There are now some videos available from the Beyond Part III / Young Researchers in Mathematics conference I attended earlier this year. Of particular note is David Spiegelhalter’s plenary lecture on probability and uncertainty. I summarised one of the ideas from that talk – the micromort – on Everything2, mentioning a comparison between the risks of Ecstasy and horse riding by “the chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs” which had led to calls for his resignation as early as January. The expert in question was Professor David Nutt, whose sacking in October has sparked controversy and debate over the role of science in policy making. Spiegelhalter’s presentation was highly accessible (and amusing!), so anyone interested in learning a bit more about these often-unintuive subjects should check it out.

There is also video from the panel discussion and some of the accessible talks in the various themed sessions. All of which should help convince you to sign up for next year’s Young Researchers In Mathematics conference, running 25-27 March again at Cambridge.